This past week we presented, “Behavioral Economics, What’s Next?” at IIeX in Atlanta. IIeX is a yearly conference connecting the most innovative ideas, agencies and clients in the market research industry.
Somewhere in between the dozen 1:1 client meetings, we managed to check out some other sessions on what’s new and innovative in the industry. Here are our Top 2 take-aways…
1. IIeX has become a dynamite hub for innovation
From start-up roundtables to the innovation competition, there’s a radiating energy to ‘disrupt’ with the next big thing. However, innovation talks mostly centered around technology for automation and speed. So, we left wondering what type of innovation is critical for the success of our clients’ business and for the future of the industry. Is it more data, faster data, blockchain, or behavioral science?
There are 2 broad ways for a company to derive value: 1) doing things faster and cheaper; and 2) driving growth. Doing things faster and cheaper is lock-step with technology growth but has finite improvement. Driving growth has infinite potential, an area we are focusing on to create long-term value through understanding and impacting customer decision-making.
2. Which insights will open the right doors?
We found it quite interesting how focused so many are on “delivering insights”. From faster insights, to more and deeper insights, there seems to be an all-out competition for who can get the “best” insights. If we take a step back and look at the industry more holistically, we left questioning is this the right focus? Are insights in the best interest of our clients?
We see insights as a means to an end and that end is delivering superior commercial performance. We wonder if focusing on trying to get “new” or “faster” insights we sacrifice our ability to impact business outcomes. We believe we need to question what we are in the business of – delivering insights or delivering business performance.
